Window-screen



(N0 Mod l.)

L. W. MERR WINDOW SGREEN. I

Patented'Mar. 13, 1894. I l

. wi e I LYMAN W. MERRIAM, OF FITOHBURG, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO MARCUSUNITED STATES PATENT QFFICEQ F. PRUE, OF SHIRLEY, MASSACHUSETTS.

WINDOW-SCREEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 516,608, dated March13, 1894.

Application filed April10,1893. Serial No. 469.780- (NomndeL) To allwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LYMAN W. MERRIAM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fitchburg, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and usefullmprovementsinScreens;andId0hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in window screens, the objectthereof being to construct the frame of the screen in such a manner asto permit of its easy operation without interference with the blindswhich may belong to the same window. In houses furnished with blindscomposed of a series of roller slats which are operated by a verticalrod, great disadvantages are experienced in the use of window screens inthe windows that have these blinds, because the operating rod of theroller slats is so situated that the screen as ordinarily constructedcannot be raised and lowered when required without striking and beingmuch interfered with by the blinds. Many attempts have been made toobviate this disadvantage. Sometimes it has been sought to accomplishthe desired end by reconstructing the window frames and placing a stripof suitable width between the sash and the outside casing by which meansthe end is accomplished to a certain extent, but the method is veryexpensive and it can only be employed in new houses, since thereconstruction of the casing cannot be had in houses already completed.Other means have also been devised to overcome-the objection statedabove, but so far none of them have been successful to any appreciableextent and the disadvantage still remains and in practical experienceattempts are being made in many places to devise some construction forthe window screen which will permit it to be manipulated in any desiredmanner, either lifted or lowered without any interference with thearrangement of the blinds.

By the construction embodied in my present invention, I have attemptedto avoid the difficulty mentioned by providing a construction for theframe of the screen which can be usedin connection with the windowsabove described without any interference with the blinds or any otherpart of the window equipment, and my improved screen can be used verysuccessfully on houses where the blinds are provided with fasteners setin the window sills, which fasteners usually have numerous projectingparts that interfere with the easy ing represented as operativelyapplied in con .nection with the window frame, the sash and the blind.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several figures of the drawings.

' A designates the wire cloth of the window screen, which cloth isattached to a rectangular frame, consisting of the vertical uprights GG, the upper horizontal rail B and the bottom horizontal rail (3. Therail 0 is provided with a handle'c by means of which the screenmay beeasily raised and lowered.

cl denotes the parting strip between the two window sashes.

Referring now to Fig. 3, D represents the lower rail of the top sash ofthe window and E denotes the window sill. In this figure I haverepresented in dotted lines a blind of the roller slat pattern, saidblind being designated by the reference letter F, while the roller slatsare designated by f, and f denotes the Vertical operating rod which isloosely connected to the several slats f and by the manipulation ofwhich said slats are opened or closed as may be desired, for the purposeof causing a circulation of the air, letting in or shutting out thelight, 860. In Fig. 3, I have also represented in connection with thewindow sash and the blind, one of my improved screens showing how thedis advantage which belongs to the ordinary screen is obviated bymyimproved construction.

In the ordinary screen the frame is rectangular and when the screen isin its vertical or normal position, the lower or bottom rail will bevertically beneath the upper rail. In my improved screen however, Iplace the upper rail B and lower rail 0, out of line wit-h each other.The upper rail B is situated on one side of the wire cloth A, While thelower rail 0 is situated on the other side thereof, that is to say, theupper rail Bis on the outer side of the wire cloth A, while the lowerrail 0 is on the inner side of said wire. The upper rail B may betenoned or otherwise connected to the upper ends of the uprights G Gbetween the latter. The lower rail 0 however is preferably secured tothe inside faces of said uprights G G at their lower ends, as shown inFig. 3.

When my improved screen is in its normal position, the upper rail B islocated contiguous to thelower rail D of the top sash of the windowoutside of the latter, while the lower rail G of the screen frame islocated directly in a vertical line beneath the sash rail D. Now theblind F is so situated that when its slats f are open, as shown indotted lines in Fig. 3, the vertical operating railf' will be directlybelow the upper rail B of the screen. If now, the lower rail 0 wassituated directly below the upper rail B as is the case with theordinary screen frame, then any attempt to lift the screen while theblind slats are open, would result in throwing the rail 0 into contactwith the rod f and thereby closing the slats or interfering greatly withthe operation of the screen, but with the lower rail 0 placed out ofline with the upper rail B as in my improved screen and instead of beingsituated directly below rail B being situated in a direct vertical linebelow rail D, the

screen can be easily lifted without throwing the rail G into contactwith the rod f and consequently the screen can be moved up between theoutside casings of the window frame from the stool to the lower rail ofthe top sash without interfering in any manner with the blind andallowing the latter to be opened or closed just as may be preferred.

By this construction of my improved screen frame, I therefore obviatethe disadvantages which I have described at the beginning of thisspecification. I therefore conceive that I have made a valuable advancein the construction of window screen frames. So many houses are builtwith the window blinds arranged closely to the window sash and situatedin such a manner that a screen cannot be placedbetween them in sucha wayas to have an easy operation, that some new method of constructing thescreen frame is not only desirable, but is compulsory.

Slight changes may obviously be made in the screen as here presented andI reserve the liberty to make such variations as practice may suggest.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

The herein-described frame for screens, consisting of the uprights G G,the upper rail B and the lower rail 0, said lower rail being out of avertical line with the upper rail and the upper and lower rails beingsituated on opposite sides of the wire cloth A which is secured to allthe rails, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in" presence of two witnesses.

LYMAN W. MERRIAM.

Witnesses:

STILLMAN HAYNES, LUCY A. HAYWARD.

